Bicycle



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

T. W, MOORE.

BICYCLE.

No. 403,059. Patented May 7, 1889.

INVENTDR:

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law attorney.

(No Model.) r 2 sheets-sheet 2'.

T. W. MOORE. BICYCLE.

No. 403,069. Patented May 7, 1889.

INVENTUR:

WITNESSES:

N. PETERS. PMlo-Ulhognphqr, Walhingon, n. c.

llNrTED STATES PATENT @FFICE.

THOMAS W MOORE, OF PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS IV. MOORE, JR, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

BICYCLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,059, dated May 7, 1889.

Application filed February 8, 1889. Serial No. 299,101. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. MOORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Plainfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bicycles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap-.

pertains to make and use the same.

My invention consists of improvements in the application of lazy-tongs or extension-lever treadles to apply the driving-power, and of the contrivances of the frames of bicycles to better adapt them for ladies use, and also of guards for concealing the feet of the operator, all as hereinafter fully described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved bicycle with a part of the foot-guard broken out. Fig. 2 is a planview. Fig. 3 is a detail of a workingjoint of the extension-lever system in side elevation. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of such joint on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section of the ratchet mechanism such as commonly employed for efiecting rotation of the driving-wheel by a reciprocating treadle-lever, and which I now employ for the connection of the extension-lever treadles with the driving-wheel; and Fig. 6 represents a modified arrangement of the treadle mechanism in side elevation.

The treadles a are each attached to the free end of one of the levers b of the first joint of a lazy-tongs or extension-lever device, whose other arm, I), has its corresponding end fulcrumed on the frame at 0, so that while the treadles are located in the suitable position forward of the drivingwheel 6 for being worked by a lady sitting on the seat f forward of the top of the wheel, the said lever systems extend rearward for connection with the driving-wheel, and so that the up-anddown treadle motion effects extension and contraction of the lever systems forward and backward accordingly.

In this part of the apparatus my present invention consists of utilizing this direct forward and backward movement of the said lever systems for driving the wheels by connecting the rear terminals, g, of the said lever systems with the driving-wheel by the I straps or chains h and the reciprocating r0- tatory boxes 0 of the common lever-treadle mechanism which enables this form of treadle mechanism to work with more direct up-anddown action of the treadle than when the terminals 9 connect with a crank.

For guides to control the terminals 9 in the forward and back motions I employ either the carrying-links t', suspended from the frame above, as atj, and jointed at k to said terminals, or the guideways Z in suitable rear extensions, 'm, of the frame, and in which any suitablestud, n, of the terminals may be fitted to run.

The ratchet-boxes 0 turn loosely on the axle v 1 being moved forward by the pull of the strap or chain It and backward by the spring q, and they carry pawls s, that engage on the forward stroke the ratchet hub t, keyed to the axle, and the ratchet of one treadle goes forward when the other goes back, so that there is continuous impelling effect on the axle; but I make no claim to these devices specifically.

For positively retracting the treadle-lever systems one by the other I arrange the walking-beam a on the pivot 19 under the platform below the treadles and in front of the driving-wheel with a chain, '0, extending from each end backward, and connecting with the said treadle-lever systems respectively at the joints cl, and thus one treadle is forced backward tothe starting point by the other when forced downward.

For substantial pivot-joints of the extension-lever systems adapted to prevent lateral vibration, and at the same time to work easy, I make the levers or arms thereof with wide hubs vu, having ball-grooves o in the faces working together on the pivot-centers w, and place balls 03 in them to form anti-friction bearings between the hubs when screwed up together on the pivots.

The grooves are made in short sectional parts divided by the partitions 2, each section being adapted for one ball, the length of the grooves being such as to allow the full I00 movement of the levers without obstruction, but preventing the further movement of the balls, and thus keeping them in their respective positions cireumferentially, it being preferred to employ only three, or at most four, balls instead of a continuous circle of balls, as are used in turn-tables and like devices.

The two side frames, f, between which the driving-wheel is mounted, are made with a deep vertical depression extending below the treadles between the driving and front wheels, at the bottom of which is a platform, 6, and to the members 9 of the front part of said depression of the frame the gate or door guards 19', of woven wire or other approved fabric, are hinged at i, to be closed after mounting the machine to conceal the feet of the operator, said guards being secured to the side frames by hooks j after being closed. My improved arrangement of the treadlegear is alike applicable to all forms of velocipedes, as well as to bicycles, and I do not limit myself as to the form of the vehicle.

\Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with the driving-wheel of a bicycle or other veloeipede or vehicle, of the extension-lever treadles and the reciprocating rotatory ratchet mechanism connecting them with the axle, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the driving-wheel of a bicycle or other veloeipede or vehicle, of the extension-lever treadles, and the reciprocating rotatory ratchet mechanism connecting them with the axle and carrying guides to control the terminals of the said extensionlever treadles connected to the ratehets, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the driving-wheel of a bicycle or other veloeipede or vehicle, of the extension-lever treadles, the reciprocating rotatory ratchet mechanism connecting them with the axle, and the carrying link-guides to control the terminals of the said extensionlever treadles connected to the ratchets, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the retracting walking-beam and connecting-chains with the extension-lever treadles, substantially as described.

5. The treadle-lever joints made with hubs having ball-grooves in the faeesworking together, in combination with anti-friction balls therein forming the bearings between the hubs when joined on the pivot-centers 20, substantially as described.

6. The treadle-lever joints made with hubs having sectional ball-grooves separated by partitions between them in the faces working together, in combination with an anti-friction ball in each sect-ion and forming the bearings between the hubs when joined on the pivotcenters, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the frame having the depression extending below the treadles between the driving and front wheels, of the concealing-guards hinged to the frame at one side of said depression and detachably-connectible with the frame at the opposite side of said depression, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS W. MOORE.

\Vitnesses:

W. J. MORGAN, W. B. EARLL. 

